Friday Food: On a Saturday

This is the first time since I started Friday Food posts that I've missed a Friday. We left last Friday for Arizona to see family and have been traveling since then. We just got home today. So today is now Friday.

Friday

Short version: Meatloaf, dill potato salad, marshmallows and graham crackers

Long version: And we're off to Tucson! I knew we would be on the road this night, so I made the meatloaf and potato salad ahead of time. The great benefit of this meal is that it can be eaten either hot or cold. So if we were somewhere we couldn't have a fire, we would still be able to eat.

In the end, we actually camped indoors in the community center in the very small and mostly abandoned village of Hachita, NM. There was a kitchen area with a microwave, so whoever wanted to heat their food up could.

I got the only cot that was in there, with a camping pad AND the thickest sleeping bag, because I am a high-maintenance princess. Everyone else slept on the stage.

Saturday

Short version: Grilled chicken, rice, roasted vegetables, grilled corn on the cob, ice cream (in cones!)

Long version: We stayed with my parents on this trip, so this food was all cooked for us. Oh, the luxury. The kids were thrilled to have chicken, corn on the cob, AND ice cream. All dreams come true at the grandparents' house.

Sunday

Short version: Mexican restaurant food, popcorn and chocolate around the pool

Long version: We were out during the day with A.'s family, and we stopped on the way back to my parents' at a restaurant A. has been to over the years. It's a very bare-bones place in a strip mall on a very busy road, but it has really, really good Mexican food. Pretty cheap, too. The total for the six of us was $51. We had various combination plates with rice and beans that included a shrimp burrito, a beef burrito and taco, some kind of egg mixture, carne asada tacos, and chicken tacos. Yum. 

We had leftovers, too, which we brought back with us and the kids ate at night after swimming in my parents' pool for over two hours. That's also when my mom brought out a tray with the popcorn, seltzer, and mini chocolate bars.

Like I said, the grandparents' house is where all dreams come true.

Monday

Long version: Grilled pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, grilled corn on the cob, roasted zucchini, more ice cream and strawberry/apple crisp

Short version: More corn? More ice cream? AND a crisp?! These kids have never had it so good.

Tuesday

Short version: A fish feast, plus rice, green salad, and after-swimming cornbread

Long version: Because my mother knows at least one of my children really loves all sorts of fish, she provided baked mahi mahi, salmon, AND shrimp. 

The cornbread is how I bribed the children to get out of the pool at 7:45 p.m. They got to eat it up on my parents' roof-porch, which made it even more fun.

Wednesday

Short version: Grilled sausage, green beans, leftovers, after-swimming cheesecake

Long version: My mom made the sausage and green beans, and then there were leftover fish, pork, rice, and raw vegetables with dip. Everyone had a customized plate, and everyone was happy.

Are you seeing a theme of dessert after swimming? Yeah. That's because that was the easiest way to get my kids out of the pool and starting to get ready for bed. Bribery is an excellent parental tool.

Thursday

Short version: Pork carnitas con mi hermano, chocolate chip cookie bars

Long version: We left my parents this day and went up to Phoenix to stay with my brother and his family for a night before starting home. He fed us pork carnitas and his wife made cookie bars, and it was all delicious. I think Jack ate four burritos. 

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

T.T.: Skip the Parchment Paper

Something I have noticed about newer recipes--and something that bothers me about newer recipes--is that many call for parchment paper on pans when it is definitely not necessary.

Most cookie recipes, for example, instruct bakers to line their pans with parchment paper. But most cookies have enough fat that they don't stick to a pan. At all. 

Ditto brownies. And roasted vegetables.

Maybe it has something to do with browning? Maybe it's to make clean-up easier? 

I must admit there might be an argument for lining a meatloaf pan with it, but I would still rather scrub a pan than use a disposable product.

Maybe they just want to sell yet another disposable product.

I don't know. What I do know is that the only thing I really think parchment paper is necessary for is lining my tortilla press when I'm making tortillas. It's the only thing the tortillas won't stick to.

But other than that, you should feel free to ignore the instruction to line pans with parchment paper. I always do. 

Snapshots: Drought

We had an unusually foggy morning the other day, but it didn't result in any significant moisture.

We're actually in the midst of a horrible drought. Even the weeds aren't growing, except for the buffalo gourds.

The drought means we're still feeding hay every day, because there's just nothing in the pastures for the sheep to eat. Bummer.

The complete lack of rain has meant that I've been very diligent in watering my garden though, so it's looking really good. Easy to weed, too, since the only places even weeds will grow is exactly where I water.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.